Hemelse mevrouw Frederike, a biography of the Dutch poet and multi-artist F. Harmsen van Beek (1927-2009), written by FASoS Prof. Dr Maaike Meijer, will soon be published by De Bezige Bij. All colleagues and students are welcome to join the presentation on Monday 5 November 20.00 at De Lutherse Kerk, Singel 411 in Amsterdam.
Frederike Harmsen van Beek is known as one of the most innovative poets of the Netherlands. Her ‘Geachte muizenpoot en achttien andere gedichten’ (1965) was hailed as a literary sensation. It offered dense, baroque, funny as well as erudite poems. She also wrote enchanting short stories and worked as an illustrator, visual artist and journalist. After living in France for a couple of years she became the creative centre of Villa Jagtlust in Blaricum, where she inspired a new generation of Dutch artists (m/f). In 1971 she moved to a small village (Garnwerd) in Groningen where ‘Kus of ik schrijf’ (1975) came into being. Sensational myths were spun around Harmsen van Beek in her lifetime, yet this biography tells a different story. Frederike’s perspective takes centre stage since Maaike Meijer gained access to many personal letters, taped memories and diaries by the poet. They lead to new interpretations of a unique body of art.
